Deploying Billions of Broadband Dollars Tops FCC’s To-Do List

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will kick off 2022 still lacking a Democratic majority, but she insists that the agency’s evenly split composition won’t hamper its work. One big lift the split agency will be tasked with is the implementation of billions of dollars of new broadband funds. Other agencies deploying broadband funds also will rely on the FCC’s maps, under development now, to target unserved and underserved areas of the country. Once Chairwoman Rosenworcel secures a Democratic majority, the FCC is seen as likely to reclassify internet service providers as common carriers under Title II of the Communications Act, and reimpose net neutrality rules that the GOP-controlled commission had scrapped.